Evacuation of a Palestinian cultural event in the Hakawati Theatre (Jerusalem)

The Hakawati Theatre (also called El‑Hakawati or the Palestinian National Theatre) is in East Jerusalem, on Abu Obeida Ibn al‑Jarah Street in the Sheikh Jarrah / American Colony neighborhood.

On November 23, 2025, Israeli intelligence forces stormed the Hakawati Theatre, also known as the Palestinian National Theatre in East Jerusalem, and abruptly shut down a children’s musical show, “Dreams under the Olive Tree,” threatening the audience with just five minutes to leave.

They shut down a performance in which Palestinian children were presenting a traditional scene, terrified them, and ordered everyone to leave, following the direct instructions of the far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has intensified attacks on Palestinian cultural spaces across the city.

The theatre, founded in 1984, is a major hub for Palestinian culture, hosting plays, festivals and training young actors, and has long been a space for artistic expression and resistance.

Al-Hakawati has faced repeated threats and closures over the years, including bans on children’s festivals and temporary shutdowns by Israeli authorities.

This raid is part of a broader pattern of attacks on Palestinian cultural institutions, driven by Israel’s extremist policies, aimed at silencing Palestinian voices and curtailing cultural expression among Palestinians.

One of the founders of the Hakawati Theater in 1984 was the late François, the son of the French poet and surgeon Laurent Gaspar. He chose a Palestinian identity and lived it fully, adopting an Arabic surname to complete his rootedness in the place, becoming François Abu Salem.